Kitty’s Back Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Catlong sighs holding Kitty's black tooth
She left to marry some top cat, ain't it the cold truth
And there hasn't been a tally since Sally left the alley
Since Kitty left with Big Pretty things have got pretty thin, yeah yeah
It's tight on this fence since them young dudes are muscling in

[Verse 2]
Well Jack Knife cries 'cause baby's in a bundle
She goes running nightly, lightly through the jungle
And them tin cans are exploding out in the ninety-degree heat
Cat somehow lost his baby down on Bleecker Street
It's sad but it sure is true
Cat shrugs his shoulders, sits back and sighs
Ooh, what can I do? Ooh, what can I do?
Ooh, what can I do? Ooh, what can I do?

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
Catlong lies back bent on a trash can
Flashing lights cut the night, dude in the white says he's the man
Well you better learn to move fast when you're young or you're not long around
Cat somehow lost his Kitty down in the city pound
So get right, get tight, get down
Well who's that down at the end of the alley?
She's been gone so long
(Here she comes, here she comes)
(Here she comes, here she comes)
(Here she comes, here she comes)
(Here she comes, here she comes)
[Chorus]
Kitty's back in town (Here she comes now)
Kitty's back in town (Oh-oh all right)
Kitty's back in town (Here she comes now)
Kitty's back in town (Oh-oh all right)
Kitty's back in town (Here she comes now)
Oh, Kitty's back in town (Oh-oh all right)
Kitty's back in town (Here she comes now)
Kitty's back in town (Oh-oh all right)

[Verse 4]
Now Cat knows his Kitty's been untrue
And that she left him for a city dude
But she's so soft, she's so blue
When he looks into her eyes
He just sits back and sighs
Ooh, what can I do? Ooh, what can I do?
Ooh, what can I do? Ooh, what can I do?
Oh, oh, oh, oh, alright
Ahahahaha (Alright, alright)

[Outro]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh alright, oh, alright
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh alright, oh, alright
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh alright, oh, alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh alright, oh alright

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About

Genius Annotation

“Kitty’s Back” is the 3rd song on Springsteen’s 2nd album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

Springsteen talks about this song, along with “Incident on 57th Street”, and “New York City Serenade” as his romantic visions of New York City on this album. These mix with his homages to New Jersey “The E Street Shuffle”, “Sandy”, “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” and “Rosalita”.
(he says this at his Madison Square Garden concert on 11/07/2009 where he performed the whole of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

Rob Kirkpatrick summarizes “Kitty’s Back”: the singer “ponders the fate of a friend whose girlfriend left to marry a NYC pretty-boy from Bleecker Street.”
In this song, the losers in the ally all watch for the one girl whom their leader will take back no matter how unfaithful she’s been.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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